How to Recognize & Diagnose Stone Foundation Cracks, Bulges, Movement InspectAPedia® -
Stone Foundation Defects listed, described & explained along with inspection and diagnosis suggestions for stone walls or buildings.
Foundation defects of occurrence: things that happen that cause damage to building foundation walls or slabs
Photographs of foundation damage patterns and types
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This article explains Stone Foundations & Walls: How to Recognize & Diagnose Stone Foundation Cracks, Bulges, Movement, or other Stone Wall Damage such as
damage due to impact, settlement, frost or water damage, and other causes.
Types of foundation cracks, crack patterns, differences in the meaning of cracks in different foundation materials, site conditions, building history,
and other evidence of building movement and damage are described to
assist in recognizing foundation defects and to help the inspector separate cosmetic or low-risk conditions from
those likely to be important and potentially costly to repair.
Also see this close companion article: FOUNDATION CRACK EVALUATION which discusses in detail the process of evaluating foundation cracks and signs of foundation damage by examining the crack size, shape, pattern, and location.
Examples of structural & other failures in Stone Foundation Walls & Stone Foundations
The photograph shows a bulged and leaning stone foundation on an 1885 building in Rhinebeck NY. We suspect
that a combination of steep bank, nearby highway, lack of adequate footings, and failure to control roof
spillage along the foundation wall are the forces behind this troublesome damage. Of these, the roof spillage
by the foundation was probably the prime source of damage.
Stone foundation walls on pre-1900 buildings are often quite thick, up to four feet at their base. In their original design
these walls tolerated water in the outside soils by permitting it to seep through the wall and often to drain away through a
dirt floor or even a through-wall drain in a low corner. Such dry-laid structural stone foundation walls
rarely fail by leaning but are often found bulged or damaged by water, frost, vehicle traffic, or
by modification by the building owner.
Stone walls, like other masonry walls, are often damaged by water and frost, especially where roof spillage
splashes close to the foundation wall. In this photograph we see a combination of stone and brick foundation
wall. Brick was often laid in finish courses atop a stone foundation wall. In other buildings the entire wall
may be stone except that bricks may have been used at windows and doors (to give a nicer square opening).
In this photo the mortar, probably a soft lime and sand mix, has washed out of stones at this inside
corner of the building foundation where the corner is below a roof valley - a source of frequent spillage
during rain and melting snow.
This photograph shows the futility of trying to keep out water by applying mortar to the inside
of an old stone wall. Near the entering water pipe we see ice forming in this wet basement, perhaps
because lots of surface and subsurface runoff are being caught and directed towards the foundation
wall by the trench dug to install the new water line. But so much of this wall is wet over so much
of its height that we can be sure that roof spillage and surface water are entering the building.
Beware of old dry-laid stone foundation walls which were later made "water proof" by mortar
or by casting an inside thin veneer of concrete against the stone. People often point the gaps between
the stones in such a wall as an attempt to reduce water entry or to try to keep out vermin.
If this change is made without also taking steps outside
to keep water away from the building, frost and water damage to the wall may occur.
Some common stone foundation wall or stone structural wall defects to be observed and reported include:
This sketch of the components of a preserved stone foundation with a solid masonry exterior wall is courtesy of Carson Dunlop.
Dislocations and loose stones, commonly at building walls and corners above grade where exposed to splashing roof runoff.
Bulges : due to frost, water, vehicle loading if vehicles are driven close to walls
Cracks (if mortared): settlement, vehicle driving close to walls
Interruptions and loss of integrity such as where stones have been removed
from a structural wall to add a door or to provide access for mechanicals. Unless appropriate
measaures are taken, such as adding a lintel or other support, removing stones from a structural stone wall
may destroy the integrity of these walls. In original construction stones
were placed in an interlocking and overlapped pattern from course to course. Removing a section of wall may result in future wall movement
unless other steps are taken to stabilize the modified section.
The Carson Dunlop sketch belowshows typical construction of a stone foundation atop which is placed a wood frame structure. We continue with our list of inspection points for stone foundations.
Water leakage is very common with all stone walls, especially dry-laid stones which were placed
without use of mortar. In original use such walls were often expected to be leaky and provision was made for
water passing through the wall to continue across a sloped (dirt) floor and out of the basement or crawl space.
Building modernization effects on homes built on stone foundations:
As such older buildings have been converted to modern use often owners add insulation, storm windows, siding, caulking,
central heating, and a basement or crawl space floor slab.
These improvements make for significant changes in how
the building works and how water and moisture can (or cannot) escape, and can lead to severe water entry problems
and related problems of insect damage, rot, and indoor mold in the building.
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Additional technical contributors & reference sources for this article are listed below.
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"Concrete Slab Finishes and the Use of the F-number System", Matthew Stuart, P.E., S.E., F.ASCE, online course at www.pdhonline.org/courses/s130/s130.htm
"Concrete Slab Finishes and the Use of the F-number System", Matthew Stuart, P.E., S.E., F.ASCE, online course at www.pdhonline.org/courses/s130/s130.htm
Sal Alfano - Editor, Journal of Light Construction*
Thanks to Alan Carson, Carson Dunlop, Associates, Toronto, for technical critique and some of the foundation inspection photographs cited in these articles
Arlene Puentes, ASHI, October Home Inspections - (845) 216-7833 - Kingston NY
Greg Robi, Magnum Piering - 800-822-7437 - National*
Dave Rathbun, P.E. - Geotech Engineering - 904-622-2424 FL*
Ed Seaquist, P.E., SIE Assoc. - 301-269-1450 - National
Dave Wickersheimer, P.E. R.A. - IL, professor, school of structures division, UIUC - University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign School of Architecture. Professor Wickersheimer specializes in structural failure investigation and repair for wood and masonry construction. * Mr. Wickersheimer's engineering consulting service can be contacted at HDC Wickersheimer Engineering Services. (3/2010)
*These reviewers have not returned comment 6/95
Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair
Our recommended books about building & mechanical systems design, inspection, problem diagnosis, and repair, and about indoor environment and IAQ testing, diagnosis, and cleanup are at the InspectAPedia Bookstore. Also see our Book Reviews - InspectAPedia.
The Home Reference Book - the Encyclopedia of Homes, Carson Dunlop & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, 2010, $69.00 U.S., is available from Carson Dunlop, and from the InspectAPedia bookstore. The 2010 edition of the Home Reference Book is a bound volume of more than 450 illustrated pages that assist home inspectors and home owners in the inspection and detection of problems on buildings. The text is intended as a reference guide to help building owners operate and maintain their home effectively. InspectAPedia.com ® author/editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author. Field inspection worksheets are included at the back of the volume.
Diagnosing & Repairing House Structure Problems, Edgar O. Seaquist, McGraw Hill, 1980 ISBN 0-07-056013-7 (obsolete, incomplete, missing most diagnosis steps, but very good reading; out of print but used copies are available at Amazon.com, and reprints are available from some inspection tool suppliers). Ed Seaquist was among the first speakers invited to a series of educational conferences organized by D Friedman for ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors, where the topic of inspecting the in-service condition of building structures was first addressed.
Design of Wood Structures - ASD, Donald E. Breyer, Kenneth Fridley, Kelly Cobeen, David Pollock, McGraw Hill, 2003, ISBN-10: 0071379320, ISBN-13: 978-0071379328 This book is an update of a long-established text dating from at least 1988 (DJF); Quoting: This book is gives a good grasp of seismic design for wood structures. Many of the examples especially near the end are good practice for the California PE Special Seismic Exam design questions. It gives a good grasp of how seismic forces move through a building and how to calculate those forces at various locations.THE CLASSIC TEXT ON WOOD DESIGN UPDATED TO INCLUDE THE LATEST CODES AND DATA. Reflects the most recent provisions of the 2003 International Building Code and 2001 National Design Specification for Wood Construction. Continuing the sterling standard set by earlier editions, this indispensable reference clearly explains the best wood design techniques for the safe handling of gravity and lateral loads. Carefully revised and updated to include the new 2003 International Building Code, ASCE 7-02 Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures, the 2001 National Design Specification for Wood Construction, and the most recent Allowable Stress Design.
Defects and Deterioration in Buildings: A Practical Guide to the Science and Technology of Material Failure, Barry Richardson, Spon Press; 2d Ed (2001), ISBN-10: 041925210X, ISBN-13: 978-0419252108. Quoting: A professional reference designed to assist surveyors, engineers, architects and contractors in diagnosing existing problems and avoiding them in new buildings. Fully revised and updated, this edition, in new clearer format, covers developments in building defects, and problems such as sick building syndrome. Well liked for its mixture of theory and practice the new edition will complement Hinks and Cook's student textbook on defects at the practitioner level.
"Avoiding Foundation Failures," Robert Marshall, Journal of Light Construction, July, 1996 (Highly recommend this article-DF)
"A Foundation for Unstable Soils," Harris Hyman, P.E., Journal of Light Construction, May 1995
"Backfilling Basics," Buck Bartley, Journal of Light Construction, October 1994
"Inspecting Block Foundations," Donald V. Cohen, P.E., ASHI Reporter, December 1998. This article in turn cites the Fine Homebuilding article noted below.
"When Block Foundations go Bad," Fine Homebuilding, June/July 1998
Straw Bale Home Design, U.S. Department of Energy provides information on strawbale home construction - original source at http://www.energysavers.gov/your_home/designing_remodeling/index.cfm/mytopic=10350
More Straw Bale Building: A Complete Guide to Designing and Building with Straw (Mother Earth News Wiser Living Series), Chris Magwood, Peter Mack, New Society Publishers (February 1, 2005), ISBN-10: 0865715181 ISBN-13: 978-0865715189 - Quoting: Straw bale houses are easy to build, affordable, super energy efficient, environmentally friendly, attractive, and can be designed to match the builder’s personal space needs, esthetics and budget. Despite mushrooming interest in the technique, however, most straw bale books focus on “selling” the dream of straw bale building, but don’t adequately address the most critical issues faced by bale house builders. Moreover, since many developments in this field are recent, few books are completely up to date with the latest techniques. More Straw Bale Building is designed to fill this gap. A completely rewritten edition of the 20,000-copy best--selling original, it leads the potential builder through the entire process of building a bale structure, tackling all the practical issues: finding and choosing bales; developing sound building plans; roofing; electrical, plumbing, and heating systems; building code compliance; and special concerns for builders in northern climates.
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